Biocompatible crosslinked polymers may be used in drug and surgical treatments of various disease states found in animals, including humans. Biocompatible crosslinked polymers may be formed by various methods. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,016 discloses the use of free radical photopolymerizable monomers to form biocompatible crosslinked polymers. Other biocompatible crosslinked polymers used for medical applications include polymers formed using electrophilic-nucleophilic polymerization, including those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,296,518, 5,104,909, 5,514,379, 5,874,500, and 5,527,856.
The systemic administration of drugs is known. Suitable routes of administration include, for example, oral, parenteral, buccal, peroral, nasal, rectal, intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intracisternal, intravaginal, intraperitonal, intravesical, intraventricular, intracranial, intrathecal, topical and/or transdermal, combinations thereof, and the like. In some cases, administration may require a high systemic concentration, which may be accompanied by adverse side effects. Similarly, the use of extended release forms of medicaments, while desirable to prolong the time period during which the effects of a particular drug may be observed, may require the use of mechanisms or systems that are inefficient in the release of the medicament in a desired amount.
There remains a need for improved biocompatible crosslinked polymers and their use as drug delivery devices.